Kamaru Usman, the former UFC welterweight champion, is heading to Abu Dhabi this week to greet supporters as part of Abu Dhabi Showdown Week. The festivities lead into UFC 333 at Etihad Arena on Saturday, October 24.
The UFC is running two fan events at Etihad Arena and other locations around the city, with open workouts, meet-and-greets and live activities. Usman appears at Yas Mall on Wednesday, joined by featherweight contender Jean Silva and Morocco’s Marwan Rahiki.
His appearance follows the open workouts of the two title-fight pairings. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski meets the unbeaten Movsar Evloev in the main event. In the co-main, Petr Yan defends the bantamweight belt against Merab Dvalishvili. Yan reclaimed the title from Dvalishvili at UFC 323 in Las Vegas last December, and the pair now meet for a third time with one win apiece.
The UFC’s preview notes that Volkanovski arrives in Abu Dhabi for the first time in three years, after defending the belt against Diego Lopes in Sydney earlier this year. Evloev is 20-0 and has won all 10 of his UFC fights, though none by finish. The 32-year-old is making his first title challenge.
Usman has plenty of history in the city. Nicknamed “The Nigerian Nightmare,” he retained his welterweight title against Jorge Masvidal on Fight Island in July 2020.
“Abu Dhabi has always been a special place for me and for UFC. I have some great memories of competing here, and the fans always bring incredible energy,” Usman said.
On Friday at 7pm, Yas Bay Waterfront hosts bantamweight contender Song Yadong, lightweight Mauricio Ruffy and Palestinian-American heavyweight Sean Sharaf. Yadong wants a shot at whoever wins the Yan-Dvalishvili fight.
Fans can attend the UFC 333 press conferences for free at Etihad Arena on Thursday from 4pm to 5.30pm. The official weigh-ins are closed to the public and start at 8am Friday. Public ceremonial weigh-ins follow at Etihad Arena from 4pm to 6.30pm, and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and Rahiki will do a live Q&A beforehand.
Friday also brings Power Slap 25 to Space42 Arena, headlined by a super heavyweight title rematch between Dayne Viernes and Vasilii Kamotskii.
The rest of the UFC 333 card has Lone’er Kavanagh against Ramazan Temirov at flyweight, Alexander Volkov against Rizvan Kuniev at heavyweight, and Aaron Pico against Losene Keita at featherweight. The Volkov-Kuniev winner could stay in line for a heavyweight title shot. Early prelims on Saturday begin around 6pm UAE time, with the main card expected around 10pm.
